Open Churches Days at
Saint Peter

Rijselsestraat 93
8900 Ieper

Church | 1930 | Romanesque, Gothic | Catholic Church

Disabled access

Organ and recorder by the Organum Yprense organ ensemble

Organ concert

5 June 2026 : 20.00 - 21.30

Ilze Bertrand (organ) and Rein Van Bree (recorder) performing music from the Renaissance and Early Baroque periods (G. Sammartini, W. Byrd, J. Walsh, O. Gibbons, A. Valente, J.S. Bach).

Price

Vvk 6€ - add 7€

Contact

Jef Peeters
+32 476 60 53 87

Organizers:

Organum Yprense - Ludo Geloen

Other events at Saint Peter

Exhibition

The new St Peter’s altarpiece under construction

6 June 2026 : 09.00 - 18.00
7 June 2026 : 09.00 - 18.00

A side altar dedicated to Saint Peter, the church’s patron saint, is largely complete, is currently being finished off and is open to the public. There are many biblical scenes that could be depicted featuring Peter. The altarpiece maker chose one of the most crucial: the denial, with the cockerel causing Peter to break down. The other side altar, dedicated to Mary, has recently been fitted with new linen draperies that cascade down from heaven, sprinkling the earth.

More about this church

Opening hours

01 January - 31 December
Mon 8.00 - 18.00
Tue 8.00 - 18.00
Wed 8.00 - 18.00
Thu 8.00 - 18.00
Fri 8.00 - 18.00
Sat 8.00 - 18.00
Sun 8.00 - 18.00

Description

In the 12th-13th century, on the place where the Flemish count Robrecht de Fries is said to have founded a house of prayer in 1073, a Romanesque church was built, dedicated to Saint Peter. At the end of the 15th- first half of the 16th century it was converted into a Gothic hall church. In 1638 the church was struck by lightning and fire. It took until the 19th century before it was fully restored.

In the First World War the church was again completely destroyed. Some old pictures of the church bear witness to this. Architect J. Coomans integrated the spared wall parts during the reconstruction and replaced the Gothic superstructure of the tower with a Romanesque one. The massive church entrance does not suggest that such a bright prayer room can be found behind it, with a beautiful hemmed high choir, flanked on the right by a small exhibition of old church treasures and on the left by a space for changing exhibitions.